Welcome to DBSTalk

Welcome to DBSTalk. Our community covers all aspects of video delivery solutions including: Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS), Cable Television, and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). We also have forums to discuss popular television programs, home theater equipment, and internet streaming service providers. Members of our community include experts who can help you solve technical problems, industry professionals, company representatives, and novices who are here to learn.

Like most online communities you must register to view or post in our community. Sign-up is a free and simple process that requires minimal information. Be a part of our community by signing in or creating an account. The Digital Bit Stream starts here!

This is a thread about the PP. What is the ERP, that $20 a month plan that covers electronics?

Rich

Sorry no it refers to the Equipment Replacement Plan....even if you don't have the PP abd your receiver craps out it gets replced for the cost of s/h 19.95....that is for all DTV customers without the protectyion plan

My comments and opinions are my own and not necessarily those of DirecTV.

Sorry no it refers to the Equipment Replacement Plan....even if you don't have the PP abd your receiver craps out it gets replced for the cost of s/h 19.95....that is for all DTV customers without the protectyion plan

Oh, didn't even know it had a name. I've got six owned HRs and I need the PP for them and the many problems I've had.

1) If you had the PP were you ever charged a fee for a truck roll out to fix the problem?
2) If so how much was it?
3) If you did not have the protection plan and they rolled out a truck to fix the problem how much were you charged for the visit?

I ask because I was looking at our compadres web site (just for giggles)

A) Their plan charges $15.00 to roll a truck if you have the plan, and $95.00 if you do not have the plan.

1) If you had the PP were you ever charged a fee for a truck roll out to fix the problem?2) If so how much was it?3) If you did not have the protection plan and they rolled out a truck to fix the problem how much were you charged for the visit?

I ask because I was looking at our compadres web site (just for giggles)

A) Their plan charges $15.00 to roll a truck if you have the plan, and $95.00 if you do not have the plan.

I have the Protection Plan. I was never charged a fee for a truck roll out that was needed to correct a issue. On the other hand I have heard of people without the Protection Plan being charged a fee for a truck roll out.

I have the Protection Plan. I was never charged a fee for a truck roll out that was needed to correct a issue. On the other hand I have heard of people without the Protection Plan being charged a fee for a truck roll out.

I do not have the protection plan and have never had it. I've had a reasonable number of truck rolls to re-peak the dish, replace the dish, replace bad LNBs, replace dead receivers/DVRs, etc. I have never been charged anything for those truck rolls. Also, when I've had dead receivers/DVRs replaced without a truck roll, I've had the shipping charge waived upon my request.

I'm guessing that, if I was requesting a truck roll every few months, there might well be charges, but, with a need for those truck rolls coming at intervals of more than a year apart, I've never had an issue. The one time when I needed two truck rolls within a span of a couple of months, there was no charge for them, but I did have to have the 2nd of those two escalated to case management to get it at no charge.

In 5 years with the protection plan they gave me quick refurb replacements on one DVR twice - 3rd time switched me to new HR24. Replaced 5lnb dish and DVR in the guesthouse after a nearby lightning strike.

New BBC's when the HR24 started acting up - and everything is fine, now.

Well, I've had Directv for over three years and never had the protection plan..........A few weeks ago, one of the DECA modules went out on my whole home system, so I called and assumed they would just ship another DECA, but the CSR had to schedule a service call which would have been 49.99 unless I signed up for the protection plan, which I did (at least for now)

I knew all I needed was a new DECA module because the lights were completely out on it, even after rebooting, but they said they wouldn't send one.

When the tech got here, he said that it wasn't the DECA module that was bad because they don't go bad.......He said if the DECA goes bad, something is wrong with the DVR causing the DECA to go bad............I was like HUH? The DVR is working fine, it just can't see the other DVR because the DECA lights aren't on........He said, well I can try a new DECA but I'm telling you it's not going to work. He put the new DECA on and everything worked fine. He seemed puzzled and said he had never seen that before. A very odd service call.

1) If you had the PP were you ever charged a fee for a truck roll out to fix the problem?2) If so how much was it?3) If you did not have the protection plan and they rolled out a truck to fix the problem how much were you charged for the visit?

I ask because I was looking at our compadres web site (just for giggles)

A) Their plan charges $15.00 to roll a truck if you have the plan, and $95.00 if you do not have the plan.

1) The only time you will be charged for a truck roll with the protection plan is if it's customer caused damage. If you move something around and then call and claim ignorance, and the tech comes out there and realizes that the customer broke something, they should change the service call to be chargeable.

2) $0 unless it's customer caused, in which case $49.95

3) $49.95 is the standard service call fee, but depending on your complaints you may get this reduced.

Edited to say this is (from memory) policy, but some people don't play by the rules

DirecTV Employee
The postings on this site are my own and do not represent DirecTV's positions, strategies, or opinions.

Well, I've had Directv for over three years and never had the protection plan..........A few weeks ago, one of the DECA modules went out on my whole home system, so I called and assumed they would just ship another DECA, but the CSR had to schedule a service call which would have been 49.99 unless I signed up for the protection plan, which I did (at least for now)

I knew all I needed was a new DECA module because the lights were completely out on it, even after rebooting, but they said they wouldn't send one.

When the tech got here, he said that it wasn't the DECA module that was bad because they don't go bad.......He said if the DECA goes bad, something is wrong with the DVR causing the DECA to go bad............I was like HUH? The DVR is working fine, it just can't see the other DVR because the DECA lights aren't on........He said, well I can try a new DECA but I'm telling you it's not going to work. He put the new DECA on and everything worked fine. He seemed puzzled and said he had never seen that before. A very odd service call.

Actually, that's not surprising. Most of them don't know quite what they're doing (with all apologies to the installers on the forum) when it comes to MRV. A few years ago, I amazed an installer when I turned off the blue ring on the front panel of a 20-700.

an easy review for us.....without the protection plan, we would have paid way over what the plan has cost us. in 16 years i've lost count on how much has been defective and it's not through customer error. it's mostly been weather related or the piece just became defective. this stuff is so brittle and easily broken, the protection plan is a cheap insurance plan in my view. it's unfortunate they don't cover their product better w/o the plan, but it's probably best to offer it to those who want/need it. then those that don't, don't have to get it. this is one area they do right.

an easy review for us.....without the protection plan, we would have paid way over what the plan has cost us. in 16 years i've lost count on how much has been defective and it's not through customer error. it's mostly been weather related or the piece just became defective. this stuff is so brittle and easily broken, the protection plan is a cheap insurance plan in my view. it's unfortunate they don't cover their product better w/o the plan, but it's probably best to offer it to those who want/need it. then those that don't, don't have to get it. this is one area they do right.

Wow, no way I would stay with any service that is that unreliable. For what you paid over 16 years, you could have replaced every peice of the sytem 5 or 6 times.

I wasn't really speaking from a cost perspective, just a satisfaction one. I couldn't imagine keeping the service if I had that many issues.

we've had the protection plan for about 10 of the 16 years. the $720 paid for it is well under the amount we would have paid for the fixes over that time. basically, the product satisfaction still outweighs the product dissatisfaction. when that changes, then it would be time to say goodbye.